


A Changed Man

by allthetrek



Category: The Outer Worlds (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-20 16:28:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21284705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allthetrek/pseuds/allthetrek
Summary: The Captain (reader) X Vicar Max(female reader intended but not specified)SPOILER WARNING! Takes place at the end of/after The Empty Man quest.Summary: The reader takes part in Vicar Max's quest for answers, and is left feeling unwell. Vicar Max helps them to recover, and the feelings between the two of them are finally acknowledged and explored.
Relationships: The Captain/Vicar Maximillian DeSoto
Comments: 4
Kudos: 106





	1. Chapter 1

Automaton oil drips from your armored gloves as you holster your trusty pistol, the one that’s gotten you through scuffs with marauders and raptidons alike. It snaps into place and you take what feels like the first breath since stepping off of the Unreliable, back onto this desolate rock. Who ever thought of setting up shop here? Sure, there are mineral resources aplenty on Scylla, but even the mining companies seem to have abandoned this place…

Still, you have to admit, it is beautiful. The shadows of drifting asteroid bits cascade over the worn road beneath your boots, as you make your way toward the abandoned research station where the hermit supposedly resides. Max and Ellie trail behind you, covering your flank in case any danger still lingers in the area. The Vicar’s pace matches yours, an air of impatience in his step, or is it trepidation, or excitement?

You know he’s waited years for this moment. He keeps hoping that he’ll find his answers, but you know nothing written in a book is going to soothe his troubled mind. You’ve gotten to know him these past couple of months. At times, he can be a complete ass to others, but to you, he’s only ever been kind, and recently even sweet and protective. You like Max. You can’t help it.

Your fingers reverberate on the metal door as you knock on the outpost entrance. Moments pass, and you can hear Max breathing quickly beside you, the silence of the asteroid allowing every sound to be made out. You’ve all removed your helmets, not wanting to frighten the hermit or appear hostile.

Finally, the door opens, and a wrinkled, older woman is at the door, asking what kind of space debris has been deposited on her doorstep this time…

***

“I’m in,” you state, agreeing to take part in this drug-assisted journey of Max’s. A hint of a smile drifts across the Vicar’s lips at your response. He’s relieved to have you by his side. Even Ellie’s company is welcome today, to keep watch over the two of you, “for safety”. You and the Vicar have had many a discussion these past weeks about life, spirituality, his past… He’s felt that he can open up to you, more than he’s felt with anyone in ages. He really can’t remember feeling so comfortable with anyone, ever. And something about him puts you at ease, too.

You lead the way, and Max’s eyes are fixed on you as you walk down the hall, to the ceremonial room where your journey will take place. He watches you, your armor glinting in the dim lighting, your pistol and blade dangling at your sides, your assault rifle strapped across your back. The hermit instructs you both to doff your weapons and armor outside of the room, and you comply.

Max feels his chest tighten as he helps you out of your armor, undoing the straps and snaps, lifting the pieces from your attractive frame. He’s helped you with your armor many times, yet today, it feels different. He’s close to you, and your sweet scent snaps him from his obsession for the truth, just for a moment. Your hair brushes across your shoulders as he lifts the final pieces from your chest. You could do it yourself, but he’s happy to assist you.

You stand there, in your tight-fitting undershirt, paired with your armored pants and boots, and smile encouragingly at him. You’re always so sweet to him. He never wants to be on the receiving end of one of your tongue-lashings, that’s for sure, but you’ve never been anything but good to him. He wouldn’t be here, today, without you. If you hadn’t accepted him into your crew, onto your ship, this odd collection of misfits, all of you.

Your fingertips come to his armor and you reciprocate the assistance. He lets you, and Ellie arranges your array of weapons on a crate near the door, then watches you two, raising a knowing eyebrow. She can see there’s something developing, some chemistry. 

You enter the candle and lantern-lit room, adorned with comfortable-looking cushions and soothing plant-life. The hermit has concocted her ceremonial incense, and places the smoldering substance in its holder at the center of the room. You breathe it in, the smoke stinging your eyes, nostrils, lungs… Then… Everything tilts… Shifts…

*** 

“Captain? [Y/N]?”

Ellie’s voice prods you back into the land of the living, consciousness returning, and you open your eyes. You’re lying in a pile of cushions, still in the ceremonial room.

“You doing okay, ‘Cap?” Ellie asks, her face looks slightly concerned, but you are still alive, so that’s a good sign.

“Ummm…,” you groan, sitting up, and you feel Max’s strong arm come around you, supporting you. He’s kneeling beside you, his face more calm and peaceful than you’ve ever seen it. Your memory starts to flood back… The visions of his mother… Of him… He let go of so much today…

*** 

You gather yourself on the cushions for a while, your head aching and you feel sick. Just… Ill. You saw something, before you passed out… It was… Yourself. Just standing there, beside Max. In a cryosuit. Like you’d just stepped off of the Hope. You’d reacted to it. You’d looked at it, horrified, like you were seeing a ghost. “Why me?!” you’d asked, and then shouted, “Why did you pick me…?!”

Then, blackness overcame you, and you passed out, your companions catching you and easing you down to the floor.

You can hear Max and the hermit discussing his revelations in the next room. Ellie stands in the hallway, giving you space to recover, but close by if you need her. You try to shake off what you saw, but it nags at you. No time to think about it now, though. You have to get back to the ship. Oh, Law. You have to walk all of the way back to the ship now…

*** 

You focus as you walk, trying your best to stay upright, to not let on how much discomfort you’re in. You’re a Captain now. You have to be strong, for your crew. But the residual effects of the incense overcome you. You yank off your helmet, bend over, and wretch out whatever is left in your stomach all over the Scyllan ground.

“Ohh, easy there ‘Cap. Let’s take a minute, if you need it,” Ellie states, weary of your state. Max is by your side, his gut twinging at the thought of you in discomfort, and because of him no less. His mind is swirling with new thoughts, yet it all feels… Different. 

He watches you muster the energy to keep walking, your strength and resolve a thing to marvel at, as usual. Most people would be out cold still, after that. Not Max, perhaps, but he’d been readying himself for this for years. His Captain… Well, he appreciates you so much for going the distance with him. More than he can say, right now.

You stumble back to the Unreliable, your crew greeting you with concern, rarely seeing you in such rough shape. ADA scolds Ellie and Max for allowing any harm to befall you, but her words are a blur as you make your way to your quarters.

Consciousness fades in and out, sound bits entering your brain in pieces, as Ellie and Max help you remove your armor once again, this time pulling your boots off, and you crawl under the covers in just your underwear, the comforting embrace of sleep welcoming you as your sink into the soft mattress…

*** 

Part 1 of 2


	2. A Changed Man, Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Captain (reader) X Vicar Max  
(female reader intended but not specified)
> 
> SPOILER WARNING! Takes place at the end of/after The Empty Man quest.
> 
> Summary: The reader takes part in Vicar Max's quest for answers, and is left feeling unwell. Vicar Max helps them to recover, and the feelings between the two of them are finally acknowledged and explored.

“Captain? Captain?” Max’s calm tone pulls you out of your deep slumber, and you slowly begin to recognize your surroundings. You’re back in your familiar quarters, your eyes adjusting to the dim lighting. Your gaze follows the rocks floating by the ship in the distance, and you realize the ship must be in orbit around Scylla, safer than staying docked on the surface.

“Captain, I apologize for disturbing you, but you’ve been asleep for almost eleven hours,” Max states, his voice quiet and soothing, like a perfectly aged Iceberg Whiskey. “ADA suggested someone check on you, to make sure you weren’t… Well… Dead.”

“Hmmm…,” you groan, shifting on the bed as you sit up fully, swinging your legs over the edge and steadying yourself, pulling the blankets over your knees to keep warm. “How thoughtful of her.”

An amused smile creeps across Max’s features. “She’s not sentient, Captain,” he states, almost playfully?

You run your hand over your disheveled hair. “Sometimes I wonder…,” you mutter. Max chuckles. Wait, what? What is this new Max…?

“Here, I took the liberty of making you some tea. You must be famished, and dehydrated,” Max says, as he offers you a warm mug of Trip-Teaz. You gratefully accept it, the heady scent of imitation tea-like substance filling your senses as you take a sip, and then another.

“Mmm… Thank you,” you state, smiling weakly at the Vicar, as he pulls your desk chair closer to the bed and sits across from you. He’s close. Very close, his knees almost touching yours, and he leans toward you.

“You’re most welcome. I’ve been… Well, concerned about you. I want you to know, Captain, how grateful I am, for everything. I feel like a new man. I’ve never felt so… at peace. I have you to thank for that,” Max states, his voice sincere, appreciative, caring. 

“Ah, well, I’m happy for you. Really. And don’t worry about me, I’ll be okay. Always am,” you reply, drinking your tea and smiling weakly at him. But the memories of the previous day trickle back into your mind, and you remember it… The vision, of yourself… Fresh out of the cryo-stasis pod… Your brow furrows, and Max notices…

“Captain? Is… Everything alright…?” he asks, but he already knows what’s bothering you. The image has been burned into his mind since yesterday, and he was more alert through it all than you were. He’s been pondering what your haunting image might mean to you.

“You know, I saw it, too. I saw… Well… You. Do you… Want to talk about it?” he asks carefully, not wanting to overstep, but curiosity gnawing at him. He wants to know more about you. He wants to know everything about you.

“I… I don’t know… I mean I do know. I just… I don’t know why it was me. Why was I the one that got off the Hope? Why did he pick me, of all those people, Max?” you ask him, or yourself, but it’s the same question that’s been bothering you since the day you were thawed out. Why you? “Wait… How did you see my vision? And how did I see yours? What happened in there?” you ask, confused, your mind beginning to spin again.

“At first I thought it was some cheap trick that we were the unfortunate victims of, but I know now that it was so much more than that. I doubt we’ll ever know exactly what happened in that room, Captain, but I’m okay with that. And if it makes any difference to you at all… I’m very glad that you could share the experience with me.”

Max’s green eyes burn into yours, and you decide to let it be, not having the energy to dwell on existential matters at the moment.

“You’re probably right… It’s probably something related to a shared universal consciousness, or how we’re all connected, or… Oh, I don’t know, I’m not very articulate right now,” you mutter, laughing at yourself.

Max chuckles a little, but he’s intrigued. “A shared universal consciousness? Well, Captain, perhaps when you’re feeling better, we could discuss it further. I have to say, I feel more open than ever before to new ideas, new perspectives on the nature of being.”

His smile warms you more than the tea you’re consuming.

“We can definitely talk more. I’d like that,” you reply, and your eyes shine in the cabin lighting, sending a spark of electricity through the Vicar, the same spark that’s been coursing through his being for weeks now when he’s near you.

“I have to say, Captain, just when I think I’m getting to know you, you show me another piece of yourself, and I am absolutely… In awe of you,” he states, his words surprising you, but in the best way possible. You stare at him for a moment, his kind face studying you for a response.

“I… Thank you… Does… That mean… You’ll stay?” you ask him, not sure where exactly the question is coming from but suddenly aware that the thought of losing him fills you with dread.

“Stay, aboard the ship? Why would I leave?” he queries.

“It’s just… You came aboard so you could pursue your quest for the truth, or peace, or whatever… And now, it seems you’ve found what you were looking for. So… What do you plan to do now?” you ask him, your expression serious, hesitant to hear his answer in case it’s not what you hope for.

“I had planned to stay aboard, Captain. If you’ll have me.”

You gaze at him, chewing your lip for a moment, unsure if you should continue your train of thought.

“Captain, if there’s something you’d like to say, please, be honest with me. I’d like there to be nothing but truth between us,” he states encouragingly, and it gives you the courage to finally open up to him. To tell him how you feel. You take a breath…

“Yes. Yes, I want you to stay, but… I need to be honest about something. I want us to be… On the same page, if you’re going to stay,” you reply, taking another breath, and Max nods to you, allowing you to continue, his heartbeat picking up, as he hangs on your every word. He was dying to know the secrets of the universe for so long, yet being here with you, learning what’s in your heart, feels so much more important to him. You are the most important thing to him, now.

“I think… I have feelings for you, Max. I mean, I do. I have feelings for you. And if you don’t feel the same, it’s okay, I just… I needed to tell you. If there’s any chance you feel the same…” you trail off, your eyes scanning his features with trepidation as he takes in your confession.

The Vicar’s expression is hard to read for a moment; surprise, perhaps, but then warmth overcomes his features and he beams back at you. His hands come to yours, and he takes the mug from your hands, and you realize you couldn’t feel it anymore, every part of you is now numb with anticipation. Max places the mug safely on the desk behind him, then turns back to you, his touch replacing the warmth of your tea as his strong hands envelop yours. His touch is soothing, calming, yet it makes your heart beat faster than you ever thought possible.

Max begins his reply to you, addressing you by name instead of his usual ‘Captain’.

“[Y/N]… I find your forward manner… Refreshing. And I will match it by being honest with you as well. I find that more and more lately, you are what fills my thoughts. Whatever your feelings are toward me, I can assure you that they are reciprocated.”

He gazes curiously at you, awaiting your response, your reaction to his words. You take another breath, feeling more courageous now, more sure of yourself. You hadn’t been imagining it, then. The chemistry between you, the stolen glances at each other, the tingling in your fingertips when they happened to brush against each other’s occasionally…

“Show me,” you state, the words exiting your lungs and lips before you could stop them. “Show me, how much you reciprocate them,” you command him, but softly, waiting to see if he can pick up on your meaning, your invitation.

And of course he does, perceptive as he is. He stands in front of you, and reaches down to assist you up, off of the bed, the covers falling to the wayside and you stand in front of him, only partially clothed. You feel one of his hands land firmly on your hip, the other coming to your jawline, and he leans down to kiss you. He tilts your chin up to meet him, and his warm lips land on yours, the passionate pressure of his kiss sending waves of desire reverberating through your body.

Your hands grasp for any part of him to hold onto, to anchor you in the moment. Time almost stands still, and perhaps it does, you can never be sure anymore… You enjoy the feeling, the scent of Max’s skin so close, how he tastes as you open your mouths to each other, his tongue entering you and exploring before his lips press firmly, deliciously into you, giving you one more intoxicatingly passionate exchange before he pulls away.

You are breathless, and so is he, and you stare at each other, still clinging to one another, unable to let go as you’ve waited so long to feel the other, to be touched, to explore…

Max’s fingertips trace along your bare shoulder and arm, trailing down to your hand which rests on his hip, clawing into the thick fabric of his shirt. He tenderly detaches your hand from himself, holding it and bringing it up to his lips, where he places sweet kisses on each of your fingers, closing his eyes with each kiss.

You smile at him, finally beginning to catch your breath, and his green eyes meet yours once again.

“I hope that sufficiently demonstrates my feelings for you, [Y/N]. Or, is there anything else I can do to show you how much you mean to me?” he asks, a wry smile donning his lips, and a hint of mischief evident behind his eyes. There’s so much passion and energy swirling within this incredible man, and you can’t wait to uncover more of it, to channel it into new… Uses…

ADA’s voice comes over the comm in your quarters, interrupting your moment with Max. “Captain, if you’re feeling better, there are matters we should discuss on the bridge,” her feminine yet robotic voice echoes through the space. Disappointment crosses your features for a moment, but you know that duty calls.

“Not to worry, [Y/N], we can pick this up later. I’ll let you get ready. And, if you need anything, as always I am at your disposal,” he states, glancing down at you, his eyes dark with desire and mischief, and he leans in to kiss you one last time. His hands are both on your hips now, firmly grasping you, holding you in place, almost dominantly, his thumbs massaging into your skin, moving dangerously close to your core, and you feel desire pool within you.

And then he’s gone, leaving you breathless and desperate for more. But you’ll just have to wait. Duty calls.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I had all of this angst for Max I had to get out! If you enjoyed this please leave a Kudos or comment <3


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